Arcade Fire

Hello--I'm going to see Arcade Fire in Oct with some friends but trouble is i've never heard any of their songs (I agreed to go because it was a free ticket and i generally like live music)...any fans on the board? Anybody want to give me a crash course on what songs i should check out before i go?

 

This is so not what I thought... I am getting old...

 

I've heard many good things about them, but I've never actually listened to their stuff. Sorry.

 

You're a lucky bastard to get tickets. Think LCD Soundsystem is doing some shows with them, if that's the case then you are in for a hell of a double bill. They're a great band...really dark, anthemic and heavy. Check out "Wake Up" and "Rebellion (Lies)" from "Funeral" and "Black Mirror", "No Cars Go" and "Intervention" from "Neon Bible"

 

They're really good. I'm surprised you didn't hear any of their stuff while you were in London, they are really big over there. As far as stuff to listen to, pick up their latest cd "Neon Bible." If you really like that, then get the cd they put out before that called "Funeral."

 

Oh, and as tyler said, you are a lucky bastard.

 

OK, slap, I'll help you out.

Got to work two hours late this morning because of a fuel tanker fire on interstate. Jebus, what a hellacious inferno. We foamed the piss out of it. I honestly don't know how the driver made it out of the cab. He was lifewatched by helicopter to a hospital with a burn unit. Jebus, what a blaze.

It wasn't an arcade fire, but a fire nonetheless, slap. Hope this satisfies.

 

It'd be real nice if they could do a Great Woods show...reeeeeeeeeel nice.
They have only two CDs out ("Funeral," which I'm getting soon, and "Neon Bible," their latest), but your best bet is to check out YouTube, which has probably hundreds of clips from their extensive touring this year (you'll love the Coachella clips - they got the coveted dusk slot). I would describe them as a cross between Velvet Underground and Talking Heads, and they look like fallen Amish on stage (lots of black and white). They all swap various instruments, sometimes in the middle of songs, and you'll see them play things like viola, standup bass, pipe organ and hurdygurdy, in addition to drumming in the aisles and a little simulated brawling.
A few notes:
* Gotta check out the "Guns of Brixton" cover from a British TV show, filmed in the lobby of Brixton Academy. As intense an acoustic performance as you'll ever see.
* There are two absolute vocal tour de forces: "My Body is a Cage" (last song on "Neon Bible") and "In the Backseat" (end of "Funeral").
* Win Butler is the loveably loopy bastard son of David Byrne. And Regine Chassagne, AKA Mrs. Butler, is, simply, a goddess (please keep count of how many instruments she plays in the show).

 

Get Neon Bible, and listen to "My Body Is A Cage," "Keep The Car Running," and "Ocean of Noise" repeatedly. They're just incredible tracks. Actually, so is "Antichrist Television Blues" and "Windowsill." I love this record.

 

That, i can relate to

 

If I were to do a story about the death of the video and pinball gamerooms, I'd have it headlined Arcade Fired.

 

Go here and listen to a show from February 2007
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7273765

You can also download and listen to it later. Be prepared, it will rock your balls off.